Greetings Team
Its been a good week in N’Djamena, Chad, where all
the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are above
average.
There seems to be so much happening all the time, I
just don’t have time to write about it all.
I’ll high-light some of our, “HELP, we need prayers”
emails:
Diesel generators are broke – They are still
broke, parts are coming, hopefully the right parts that will really fix the
problems. The big one runs OK, but its start switch is worn out. At first we
were very nervous about trying to operate our center with just one generator.
But, so far its OK. Then there is the small generator, as soon as the part
arrives for it, I’ll get it up and running, afterwards I’ll be able to take down
the big one for maintenance. YOU provided tons of help via YOUR contacts and
support. Thanks so much!
Plumbing problem – We had to evacuate our two
story eight unit family apartment building for the plumbing system overhaul just
before Christmas. The system had failed. 100%, all new pipes are being
installed. Everything is being routed thru the back wall of the building and we
are abandoning all the under foundation and in wall piping. We hired locals to
do the work. It will probably be the end of February before completion of the
project and clean up afterward before people can move back into the building.
Yes, it is that big of a project. Housing had to relocate all those who
were coming here to stay in Jan and Feb. Thankfully one of the other guest
houses had room for them.
Motorcycle training – In the beginning of
December, I, Jim, went about eight hours south to the city of Moundou and taught
a one week motorcycle safety/skills and maintenance training course. It went
very well. You can read a detailed account by going here, (http://jim-judys-wycliffe.blogspot.com/)
Daily Life - for Judy and I its just plain
old busy. We both work very long days, normally six days a week. Why do we do
this to ourselves? I guess we think the work needs to get done and we are in the
position to get it done. I have four full time employees who worked three
different schedules. I needed to work those schedules as well to provide the
supervision they needed. Starting Jan 2, 2014, I changed all their schedules to
Monday – Friday 7:00 – 2:00. Yes, our employees get to work a 35 hour week.
Judy and I take an hour for lunch and a nap, go back to work and finish the
workday. some days that was at six or seven at night. But now, we will try and
take Saturdays as well as Sundays off. It should be a lot better schedule for
us. (Why didn’t we do this sooner???) Hindsight!
NEW INFO - we just bought our return tickets
to the USA. Come March, we will have been here for two years, our original
commitment. We had hoped to fly east and visit our son Josh in Thailand and
continue east to Hawaii to visit my brother before returning to the USA. But our
finances decided we needed to go West (about 1/3rd the cost) and see as many of
you as possible before June. So, now March 5/6 we fly west to Wichita, Kansas
and spend a week with my dad and mom. We will leave Wichita around the 14th to
drive east to visit family, friends and supporters. (He is loaning us his
pickem-up-truck. Thanks Dad!) We’ll finish March with Jody and family in
Asheville, NC, then beginning in April we zigzag back west, visiting and
speaking as we go, eventually returning to Tucson by the first week of June.
Seems crazy after our work load here, but we think its the best time to do it,
before the summer heat. We will take time to camp and get some R&R too.
This is our first announcement of our plans to you. We will be planning for
three months on the road, visiting you and speaking about Chad and what God is
doing here. We’d be happy to speak in churches, Bible studies, fellowship
groups, schools, motorcycle groups, car groups, where-ever God provides. You and
God are our only source for finding speaking opportunities. So, if you’d like us
to share our story with you in any venue let us know when and where. You know I
am not a preacher; I pretty much speak like I write. To see how I write go to
(http://jim-judys-wycliffe.blogspot.com/) Your invitations will
determine our itinerary. We’ll keep you up to date as information comes in.
Mid June we start working on our medical issues from
our home in Tucson. I need to get a knee replaced, my right shoulder is giving
me a lot of problems and my toes are acting up. (These bodies...) Judy has some
feet, knee, and shoulder issues that need looking at too.
We are not sure what is going to happen after that.
We both enjoy this ministry /our jobs here in Chad, but it has been hard on us
both physically and mentally. We’d really like to be more involved in the lives
of our grandchildren and our parents who are up in years. So, if God calls us
back overseas, we might be doing six months in Chad and six months in the USA.
God will need to clarify that call and provide the funding. This could be the
direction God is leading us so please join us in praying for clarification /
conformation.
Prayer Points:
1. Travel and speaking plans come together for the
three month road trip, March - May. We need speaking opportunities and places to
stay.
2. Healing for our bodies. Miracles would be GREAT
and with God possible, but He uses doctors too.
3. The specifics of God’s calling for the future gets
clarified.
4. Pray for each of our kids, Josh, Jordan and Jody.
That they continue to get closer to God and do what He puts in front of them to
do.
Thanks
You all are GREAT!
Jim
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